During surgical procedures, a surgeon depends on an operating microscope and an illuminating light source, such as, for example, an endoilluminator, to visualize the anatomical structures of the eye on which an operation is being conducted. If the surgeon experiences limited visibility in posterior eye procedures, the current protocol is to generally increase the intensity of the illuminating light source. In this regard, the medical illumination industry offers light sources with higher intensities.
The higher intensity light source, however, is not always sufficient to accurately view the fundus of the eye. The fundus is in the posterior section of the human eye, which includes the retina, blood vessels, the optic nerve, the choroid, and the like. Each of these anatomical features has a specific color when viewed with an operating microscope. During surgery, some structures can be easily seen. However other features can potentially be washed out with the bright white light of the endoilluminator.
Current attempts to overcome this problem are unsophisticated and generally involve the use of red-free light to visualize certain features of the fundus such as the retinal blood vessels and pathologic focal atrophy of the nerve fiber layer. Accordingly, what is desired is an illumination system that improves the quality, intensity, and contrast of light to provide surgeons with better illumination during ophthalmic surgery.